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Manchester United will host Newcastle United on Boxing Day while Manchester City wil travel to Nottingham Forest for the early kick-off on December 27, the Premier League has confirmed. The top-flight has made the bold change to abandon the December 26 tradition that saw game played after Christmas as part of their new plans.
Ruben Amorim's side take on the Magpies in the only Boxing Day fixture with the encounter to be played at 8pm, broadcast live on Sky Sports. There will seven Premier League matches on the Saturday (December 27) with City looking to pick up an important three points against Sean Dyche's side as they kick-off the days' proceedings.
The relentless festive period spans from Boxing Day until January 8 with constant Premier League action throughout. United will also see their clash against Wolves broadcast on Sky Sports (8:15pm kick-off), meanwhile the trip to the Stadium of Light for Pep Guardiola's side will now be played on New Year's Day (January 1) at 8pm due to Sunderland taking on Leeds on December 28.
City supporters face a gruelling trip to the North East at the beginning of the new year, which will see the game finish around 10pm before returning to the North West.
TNT Sports will showcase United's trip to fierce rivals Leeds United on January 4 and at 5:30pm, Chelsea's visit tio the Etihad Stadium will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Wednesday, January 7 is the last day of the hectic schedule and both City and United will be shown on Sky Sports as Guardiola's men take on Brighton & Hove Albion (7:30pm kick-off), before Turf Moor plays host to Burnley vs United at 8:15pm.
This season, the spotlight has been cast over the festive period due to calendar pressures triggered by the expansion of UEFA competitions, the new-look FA Cup schedule as well as the Club World Cup last summer and the World Cup which will kick-off at the end of the season.
A statement from the Premier League said: "The Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have led to a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day this season – impacting an important tradition in English football.
“There are now several challenges to Premier League fixture scheduling rooted in the expansion of European club competitions – which led to a revision of our domestic calendar ahead of last season, including changes to the FA Cup.
"This ultimately left the Premier League as a 33-weekend competition – fewer than previous seasons, despite being a 380-match competition since 1995.
“With fewer weekends to work with, the League is bound by how the calendar falls.
"The League can give an assurance that next season there will be more Premier League matches on Boxing Day – as the date falls on a Saturday."
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